The Paramotor

Small, Light, Powerful

The paramotor is a wonder of small-scale aircraft engine engineering.
They are usually petrol-powered 2-strokes. The French have been making
them for years, so the Adventure motor in all its variations has become well known in power paragliding circles. Since 1990!

Other well known brands are the Fresh Breeze motors from Germany and Walkerjet motors from the Czech Republic.

Something
you wear on your back before takeoff can't be too heavy. So most such
motors weigh in the range of 20 to 36 kg (45 to 80 lbs). Actually,
'paramotor' refers to the whole assembly which hangs under the
paraglider canopy in flight. This consists of a metal tubing chassis to
which is attached the engine with its propeller and cage, plus the
harness which also provides a seat for the pilot.

A range of sizes
are available, since the pilot/engine/canopy combination must be right
for safety and performance reasons. Some units come with electric starts
rather than the usual pull-start mechanism. However, pull-starts save a
fair bit of weight and complexity and are favored by many schools.

A Typical Paraglider Engine

Here's some specs for an Adventure motor that suits fairly light pilots.

Engine

Solo 210 - a 14.5 HP single cylinder 2 stroke

Max Thrust

46 kg (100 lbs)

Propeller

2 or 4 blades - 37" wood or composite

Air Time

2.5 to 3 hours on a 2 US gallon tank

Empty Weight

20 kg (44 lbs)

Noise Level

56 - 54 dB (at 300 ft)

Pilot Weight

max 75 kg (165 lbs)

In addition, Fresh Breeze motors have the following features.

emergency motor jettison (could be a life-saver over water!)

certified by the DULV (German ultralight association)

tuned exhaust which is very quiet and provides extra thrust

Going Electric!

It had to happen eventually. The first practical electric paramotor
has been constructed and flown, in Canada. Csaba Lemak and Patrick
MacKenzie managed to beat the considerable technical odds against them
and eventually got the weight down and the power up to flyable levels.

I've
seen electric radio controlled models fly, and they perform similarly
to the much noisier 2-strokes. It might not come as a surprise then to
learn that the new motor for powering a paraglider is basically a model
engine on steroids! Apparently the prototype was powered by 112 Lithium
Polymer batteries and a custom wound three phase motor weighing 1.5 kg (3.3 lbs).

Although they can't yet
stay in the air very long, electric motors require very little
maintenance. Surely we will be hearing more and more about electric motors for paragliders in the future!